Circle
Of Fifths

The Circle of Fifths is an easy way to find out the key a song
is in. The Circle of Fifths tells you how many sharps or flats are in a given
key. C has no sharps or flats. It is called the Circle of Fifths because as
you go clockwise you go up a fifth. For example, the fifth note of the C major
scale is G. The fifth note of the G major scale is D, and so on.

C

0♯

G

1♯

F♯

D

2♯

F♯

C♯

A

3♯

F♯

C♯

G♯

E

4♯

F♯

C♯

G♯

D♯

B

5♯

F♯

C♯

G♯

D♯

A♯

F♯

6♯

F♯

C♯

G♯

D♯

A♯

E♯

C♯

7♯

F♯

C♯

G♯

D♯

A♯

E♯

B♯

C

0♭

F

1♭

B♭

B♭

2♭

B♭

E♭

E♭

3♭

B♭

E♭

A♭

A♭

4♭

B♭

E♭

A♭

D♭

D♭

5♭

B♭

E♭

A♭

D♭

G♭

G♭

6♭

B♭

E♭

A♭

D♭

G♭

C♭

C♭

7♭

B♭

E♭

A♭

D♭

G♭

C♭

F♭

The Circle of Fifths can also be used to help to learn chords.
You already know that the Circle goes in Fifths clockwise. Now look at how close
the chords that are a fifth apart are together on the fretboard. You might not
use this too much, but it will give you a broader view of the chords and how
they are related to other chords.